Many of the credit card offers that appear on this site are from credit card issuers from which MillionMileSecrets.com receives compensation. Compensation does not impact the placement of cards on Million Mile Secrets other than in banner advertising. MillionMileSecrets.com does not include all credit card offers that might be available to consumers in the marketplace.

Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)

How to Earn Marriott Points in 2019: The Ultimate Guide

March 22, 2019
by
Devon O'Rourke Devon O'Rourke

Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Here’s our full Advertising Policy.

Devon O'RourkeMillion Mile Secrets Team

Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Here’s our full Advertising Policy.

Marriott is the 2nd-largest hotel chain in the world, and has hotels in luxurious destinations like the Maldives, Italy, and nearly every other place. Marriott merged with Starwood, bringing their total number of worldwide locations to ~6,700 over 29 unique brands. It makes sense that Marriott points are so sought after.

It’s Easy to Earn Marriott Points for Stays With the 2nd-Largest Hotel Chain in the World

I’ll show you all the ways to add more Marriott points to your account.

How to Earn Marriott Points

The easiest way to collect Marriott points is with welcome offers from the best travel credit cards. Chase and American Express each issue cards that earn Marriott points.

Each one varies in terms of welcome bonus, annual fee, and points earned in bonus categories. Here’s a round-up with the important details. Be sure to check our in-depth reviews of each card for more information.

Note: You can only earn the welcome bonus on American Express personal and business cards ONCE per person, per lifetime.

Even better, you can get a value of much more than the annual fee because you get a free night award every year after your card account anniversary which you can redeem at hotels worth up to 35,000 points per night. You can also earn an additional free night award after you spend $60,000 on your card in a calendar year.

How you use those points depends on what you are looking for. You can book longer stays at Marriott’s budget-friendly hotels like the Courtyard Orlando Lake Buena Vista, where you can book a 5-night stay forfree using your welcome bonus!

Or splurge on an unforgettable stay at incredible resorts, like 2 nights at Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club right on Ka’anapali Beach where my wife and I went for our honeymoon. We were a 5-minute walk from Black Rock where we swam with sea turtles!

The card comes with a $450 annual fee. (See Rates & Fees) That’s high, but you’ll get way more value from this card as long as you spend at least $300 at Marriott hotels a year. The $300 Marriott statement credit can effectively bring the net annual fee cost down to $150 ($450 annual fee – $300 credit).

Plus you’ll get lots of additional money-saving perks that can more than offset the annual fee.

Earn Marriott Points Indirectly

Other cards earn miles or points that you can transfer to Marriott, including:

The information for the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Remember, you can only earn the bonus on personal and business American Express cards once per person, per lifetime. So consider carefully if transferring points to Marriott makes the most sense for you. There are plenty of other ways to earn Marriott points!

You can also transfer points to Marriott directly if you hold the Chase Ink Plus or Ink Bold (not available to new applicants).

There are also 4 no-annual-fee Chase Ultimate Rewards cards! But you’ll need one of the above cards to transfer points to Marriott.

If you have one of the following no-annual-fee cards, you can still combine points with another eligible card, then transfer points to Marriott. But you must have at least 1 annual-fee Chase Ultimate Rewards card to transfer points directly to travel partners.

2. Green Choice and Welcome Gifts

At participating brands, you can opt out of housekeeping and earn up to 500 bonus points per day on stays of 2+ nights at participating Renaissance, Marriott, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, and SpringHill Suites locations in the US and Canada (up to a maximum of 5,000 bonus points per stay).

Additionally, if you’re a Gold Elite, can earn up to 500 Marriott points as a welcome gift. Platinum Elite members can get up to 1,000 Marriott points. Sometimes you can choose between points and breakfast, it all depends on the hotel brand.

3. Refer a Friend

You can refer friends through Chase, AMEX, and through Marriott directly.

Chase allows you to earn up to 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per eligible card when you refer a friend, they open a card, and complete the minimum spend. You’ll earn 10,000 points per referral, up to 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards point which you can transfer to Marriott directly at a 1:1 ratio.

Have a Chase Ultimate Rewards Card? Refer a Friend and Watch the Points Stack up!

For small business cards, that number can be as high as 20,000 points per referral, and up to 100,000 points per year.!

Or you can refer friends to the personal Marriott card and earn 20,000 Marriott points per referral, up to 100,000 Marriott points per year.

AMEX also lets you refer friends. For example, I can earn up 20,000 Marriott points per referral up to 55,000 Marriott points per calendar year when my friends open a Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card and meet minimum spend requirements.

AMEX Lets You Earn Marriott Points for Referrals, Too

Each AMEX card may have different bonuses per referral so make sure you log into your account to see your offer. Membership Rewards points earned by referrals can be transferred directly to Marriott at a 1:1 ratio.

Lastly, Marriott rewards you with Marriott points when you refer a friend and they complete a stay. You’ll earn 2,000 points per stay, up to 5 stays per referral. That’s up to 50,000 Marriott points. Check out the Marriott referral website for more details.

4. Marriott Moments

Marriott Moments offers special activities and events just for Marriott Rewards members! You could find yourself participating in a gourmet tasting or a spooky tour of the city, for example. Marriott members earn 10 Marriott points per $1 spent on Marriott Moments.

5. Marriott Bonvoy Events

By booking events directly with Marriott at participating brands, you can earn 2 Marriott points per $1 spent. You can also earn airline miles and elite qualifying nights, take a look at the Marriott Bonvoy Events website for more details!

6. Special Promotions

Marriott runs promotions that reward Marriott Rewards members with bonus points. Right now, you can earn double points at participating hotels starting with your second stay between March 19 and June 4, 2019.

7. Marriott Vacation Packages

Sometimes, Marriott will offer bonus Marriott points for booking vacation packages through their direct portal. We’ve seen promotions in the past like 10,000 bonus points with a 4-night stay at select locations.

8. Hertz Car Rental

As part of the Marriott Moments experience, you can rent a car through Hertz and earn up to 2,000 Marriott points per rental. Best of all, you can receive discounted rates when booking through the Marriott Moments portal.

9. Cruises

Feeling like a cruise? Well, you can earn 3 Marriott points per $1 spent through the CruisesOnly portal, an exclusive Marriott partner.

You Can Earn 3 Marriott Points per $1 When you Book Through CruisesOnly, Marriott’s Partner

10. Vacation Timeshare

Like free stuff? So does team member Brett! He was able to snag a $1,000+ hotel stay for almost free by attending a timeshare presentation for Hilton. While Marriott does things a little differently, they still offer incentives for attending timeshare presentations. Members report earning 10,000 Marriott points on some occasions, in addition to resort credits of $25 or more!

11. Purchasing Points

Purchasing Marriott points is always an option. While usually not recommended, there are specific times when buying points makes sense. One reason you might want to buy points is to keep your current pool of points from expiring since they will expire after 24 months of inactivity. Another time you might buy points is to top off your account to meet a specific redemption.

You Can Always Purchase Points to Top-Off Your Balance to Book a Specific Redemption

12. Diners Club

If you have a Diners Club Card, you can transfer Diners Club Rewards at a rate of 1,250 to 1,500 Marriott points. Check out the Diner’s Club website for more information!

Marriott has partners to earn even more points, including for dining, taking a cruise, one-of-a-kind experiences, or renting a car. You can also purchase points if you want them even sooner. Between all of these ways to earn Marriott points, you’ll have your next award stay that much faster!

N/A

18.24% - 25.24% Variable

$95

Yes

Rates & Fees

Other

Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)

It’s possible, but it’s a pretty expensive way to beef up Alaska Miles. It would take 60,000 Chase points to get 25,000 Alaska pts. If you want the pts for Alaska flights you’d be better off transfering to Singapore and using Singapore miles to book Alaska flights. If you’re using it for Alaska award partners look for other UR partners.

Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)